Build and Handling

The 28mm makes for a well-balanced combination on A7-series bodies

Measuring 64mm in diameter and 60mm long, the 28mm is one of Sony’s smallest FE lenses, second only to the 35mm f/2.8 ZA. I find it is especially well matched to the compact Alpha 7 bodies, and at 200g it adds little to the overall weight.

This makes it considerably more portable than similar-spec DSLR lenses like Nikon’s recent 28mm f/1.8G, which measures 73 x 81mm and weighs 330g – a direct advantage of the smaller back-focus distance afforded by the mirrorless E mount.

The lens barrel is made of aluminium alloy, and feels robust despite its light weight. Sony says the lens is resistant to dust and moisture, which makes it a good companion to the Alpha 7 models for landscape shooters. The only external control is the finely ridged and smoothly rotating focus ring.

Autofocus

Driven by a linear stepper motor, autofocus is almost completely inaudible during both stills and movie use. When used on the Alpha 7 and 7R autofocus is reasonably quick – not breathtakingly fast as on some other compact system cameras, but it’s not obviously slow either.

As we’d expect from an on-sensor AF system, accuracy is excellent even when shooting at f/2 – none of the 300 or so real-world shots I took with the lens was remotely out of focus.